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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey and Iraq on Friday signed a counterterrorism pact aimed at cracking down on separatist Kurdish rebels who have been attacking Turkey from bases in Iraq.
Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay (right) and his Iraqi counterpart Jawad al-Bolani signed the pact.
The pact, however, falls short of meeting Ankara's demand to send troops in pursuit of Kurdish rebels fleeing across the border into northern Iraq, private NTV television said.
The deal was signed by Iraq's Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani and his Turkish counterpart, Besir Atalay.
"It was not possible to reach a deal on chasing Kurdish rebels, however, we hope this issue will be solved in the future," Atalay said. "We are expecting this cooperation against terrorism to be broadened as much as possible."
The deal came a day after, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the United States to act against Kurdish rebels who have escalated attacks on his country from bases in Iraq, warning that continued inaction was harming U.S. relations with its key Muslim ally.
"Our expectations are very clear on this point. The Iraqi authorities and the U.S. must urgently take concrete measures beyond simply paying lip service ... unfortunately so far we have not seen any concrete steps," Erdogan said Thursday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
Turkey has become increasingly frustrated with the U.S. for failing to live up to promises to tackle separatist guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK.
www.cnn.com
Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay (right) and his Iraqi counterpart Jawad al-Bolani signed the pact.
The pact, however, falls short of meeting Ankara's demand to send troops in pursuit of Kurdish rebels fleeing across the border into northern Iraq, private NTV television said.
The deal was signed by Iraq's Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani and his Turkish counterpart, Besir Atalay.
"It was not possible to reach a deal on chasing Kurdish rebels, however, we hope this issue will be solved in the future," Atalay said. "We are expecting this cooperation against terrorism to be broadened as much as possible."
The deal came a day after, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the United States to act against Kurdish rebels who have escalated attacks on his country from bases in Iraq, warning that continued inaction was harming U.S. relations with its key Muslim ally.
"Our expectations are very clear on this point. The Iraqi authorities and the U.S. must urgently take concrete measures beyond simply paying lip service ... unfortunately so far we have not seen any concrete steps," Erdogan said Thursday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
Turkey has become increasingly frustrated with the U.S. for failing to live up to promises to tackle separatist guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK.
www.cnn.com